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B's Sign Hnidy, MacDonald

by
Staff Writer
/ Boston Bruins

BOSTON, MA – Boston Bruins General Manager Peter Chiarelli announced today that the club has agreed to terms with free agent defenseman Shane Hnidy on a one-year contract. Per club policy, the financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. Hnidy is with the team in Vancouver, however he has not been cleared to play by the team’s medical staff due to a shoulder injury suffered during training camp with Phoenix. He had been with the Bruins on a tryout basis since Wednesday, February 23. Hnidy will be available to the media Saturday night in Vancouver after the team bus arrives to Rogers Arena at approximately 5:00 p.m. PT.

Chiarelli also announced that the club has signed Providence Bruin Kirk MacDonald to an NHL contract. MacDonald was previously on an AHL contract and will remain with Providence (AHL).

Hnidy has not played an NHL game this season and was in training camp with the Phoenix Coyotes this preseason. The 35-year-old has appeared in 547 NHL games, with 16-55=71 career totals and 631 PIM. He most recently played in the NHL in the 2009-10 season with the Minnesota Wild, where he registered 2-12=14 totals and 66 PIM in 70 games.

For two seasons (2007-08 and 2008-09), Hnidy skated in 108 regular season games for Boston, with 4-13=17 totals and 86 PIM. He also appeared in 14 playoff contests with the Bruins over his two seasons, with 2-1=3 totals. The Bruins originally acquired Hnidy on January 2, 2008 from the Anaheim Ducks with a 6th-round draft pick (Nicholas Tremblay) for Brandon Bochenski.

Hnidy, a 6’2”, 204-lb native of Neepawa, Manitoba, was originally drafted by the Buffalo Sabres in the 7th round (173rd overall) of the 1994 NHL Entry Draft. In addition to Boston, Minnesota and Anaheim, he has also played for the Ottawa Senators, Nashville Predators, and Atlanta Thrashers. He played his junior hockey in the Western Hockey League, spending a total of five seasons with the Swift Current Broncos and Prince Albert Raiders. In the WHL, he amassed 327 games played, 31-122=153 totals and 498 PIM.

MacDonald, who has yet to make his NHL debut, has 12-15=27 totals and 31 PIM in 60 games this season for Providence (AHL). In 177 career AHL games, MacDonald has 32-29=61 totals and 107 PIM.

A 6’2”, 199-lb native of Victoria, British Columbia, MacDonald was originally obtained by the Providence Bruins when he signed a professional tryout agreement on February 22, 2009. He went undrafted after playing four seasons at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute (ECAC), where he had 47-56=103 totals and 144 PIM in 137 career games from 2002-2007.